ENG vs NZ: Gus Atkinson's five-wicket haul seals England's win in 2nd shortest Test at Lord's

England completed a comfortable 115-run victory in the first Test on Day 4 at Lord’s as New Zealand got bundled out for 138 in 40.3 overs in the fourth innings on Sunday, June 7. Gus Atkinson (5/30) emerged as the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, scalping his fifth five-wicket haul, while Josh Tongue (2/48) and Ben Stokes (1/12) also chipped in with one wicket each.  

It only took 19 overs on Day 4 for the hosts to skittle the Kiwis as Lord’s registered its second shortest Test match ever, getting finished in just 166 overs. New Zealand came into the day on 55/5 chasing a target of 254, but again capitulated against a relentless English bowling attack.

England made further inroads into the Kiwi batting lineup as Josh Tongue dismissed Tom Blundell (4 off 12) in the second over of the day to leave them reeling at 58/6. With New Zealand in desperate need of a miracle, Glenn Phillips (44* off 52) came out playing his shots to put some pressure back on the hosts.

At the other end, Devon Conway (41 off 91) also made full use of his reprieve given by Harry Brook at second slip and added crucial runs alongside Phillips. The duo finally got the scoreboard moving, trying to whittle away the deficit with their positive approach.

They added 53 runs for the seventh wicket off just 68 balls to ignite some hopes in the New Zealand dressing room. However, the joy was short-lived as the golden arm of Ben Stokes made Conway edge to Jacob Bethell at gully, who took a sharp low catch to put England on top once again.

Ollie Robinson named Player of the Match

While Phillips continued to play his shots, he failed to get any support as Atkinson cleaned up the tail, removing Nathan Smith (4 off 3), Kyle Jamieson (6 off 9) and Matt Henry (0 off 10) in quick succession to seal England’s victory.

Ollie Robinson was adjudged Player of the Match for his terrific all-round show as he registered figures of 7/77 and also made a valuable contribution of 29 (30) in England’s second innings in his comeback game. Courtesy of his efforts, England took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with the second Test scheduled to be played from June 17- 21 at Kennington Oval in London.

Meanwhile, the Lord’s pitch came under massive scrutiny throughout the Test, with experts slamming the treacherous surface, where no team could survive more than 56 overs across all four innings. A whopping 16 wickets fell on Day 1 of the Test match, followed by another 17 on Day 2. It remains to be seen how the ICC rates the pitch in the coming days.